Manchester United have changed vastly since Ruben Amorim’s arrival as head coach, both in terms of style of play and personnel used.
One of the Portuguese’s biggest changes was axing Marcus Rashford following disappointing training displays. And instead of knuckling down and working even harder to win over the new boss, the Mancunian opted to down tools.
He conducted an interview in which he claimed he was open to leaving his boyhood club and after a lengthy negotiation process involving multiple clubs, the United No 10 opted to join Aston Villa on loan.
The Englishman has made two starts and accumulated three assists and has impressed his new teammates and manager Unai Emery, with the Birmingham outfit having the option of making the loan deal permanent for £40 million.
Rashford has excelled at Villa
The versatile forward was hell-bent on using the Villans as a stepping stone to ultimately move to Barcelona, something he had already instructed his agents to work on.
However, the player’s mind has reportedly changed and he is now aiming to stay at Villa Park permanently given his improvement in form under Emery.
Plenty have criticised Amorim and United for allowing the 27-year-old to leave Old Trafford with Rashford now regularly seen tracking back and working hard off the ball as well.
Ben Jacobs has told Givemesport that INEOS are not too concerned with such talks and are delighted that the player is showing an improvement.
But they also know that given the strained relationship with Amorim and the ownership, there was very little chance Rashford would fare as well even if he was reinstated into the United starting lineup.
United happy to see him succeed
Jadon Sancho, who was on fire for Borussia Dortmund during his loan last season, struggled at the start of the season and was eventually loaned out to Chelsea. United feared Rashford’s form would follow a similar trajectory if he had stayed.
“Manchester United don’t have any regrets about sending Marcus Rashford on loan to Aston Villa, even though he’s in excellent form and in a small number of games, albeit, so far, he’s shown energy intensity and quality. Aston Villa are delighted with Marcus Rashford, not just on the field, but off it as well.
“But Manchester United know, as with Jadon Sancho, who had a similar spike in form, when he went on loan to Dortmund, that Rashford succeeding and thriving and enjoying his football at Aston Villa doesn’t necessarily mean that it would be like for like at Manchester United as well, because it’s different manager and circumstances.”
Rashford’s improved form bodes well for the Red Devils who are likely to earn at least £40 million or even more if other teams get involved in a summer bidding war.
Feature image Michael Regan via Getty Images
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Ayantan Chowdhury
Ayantan has worked for 10 years in the Indian sports media industry, writing for the biggest newspapers and websites but his heart was always set on writing about his favourite club. Currently an editor at The Peoples Person. You can follow him on X: @ayantanc_25
